Chantrey Bequest
Preserved but no longer current.
When Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (1781-1841), the sculptor, died he left a sum yielding about £3,000 a year to the Royal Academy, of which the President was to receive £300, the secretary £50, and the re- mainder was to be devoted to the purchase for the nation of works of art executed in Great Britain.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Chantrey Bequest” mean?
When Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (1781-1841), the sculptor, died he left a sum yielding about £3,000 a year to the Royal Academy, of which the President was to receive £300, the secretary £50, and the re- mainder was to be devoted to the purchase for the nation of works of art executed in Great Britain.
Is “Chantrey Bequest” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.